Documentation With Digital Cameras

Using digital cameras is also a type of photographic documentation. Nearly all advice for practical use given in Section 8.3 apply here too. However digital cameras need a computer-controlled system, and likewise when working with video cameras. Therefore most of the advice given in Section 8.4 also applies here. 

A modern computer-controlled system must fulfil the following requirements  

CAMAG and DESAGA started the era of using digital photography for TLC documentation with simple point and shoot cameras, followed by non-linear 8 bit cameras. Besides snapshots they delivered useful pictures in daylight and at a 254 nm wavelength. For actively fluorescent substances, especially those with very low intensity, a scientific camera is recommended. 

The following photographs in this book were produced using a 12 bit Digital camera-system from CAMAG 8, 9a and 9b. 

Practical tips for working with a digital camera system  

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Figure 7 Instruments for visualization of plates. (A) UV cabinet, (B) documentation system with digital camera, and (C) documentation system with video camera (photograph courtesy of CAMAG and Desaga).

To diagnose the surface blemish problem several analytical techniques were employed. First, the samples were photo-documented. Since an aesthetic problem is by definition a problem with the visual appearance of an item, it is important to ascertain if all the defects are different or of the same nature. With close inspection, the sun visor arms were found to contain two distinct types of defects. Figure 1(a) shows what was called the Type A defect and Figure 1(b) shows the so-called Type B defect. These images were acquired using a stereomicroscope coupled with a digital camera. 

Digital cameras, tablets, and smart phones provide a quick and economic way to capture the information about a job under review. Photos and videos can be used in discussions with employees so that they can point out areas of concern as well as documenting the job activities for future use. Tablet and smart phone apps are available for capturing, then editing videos and photos,... 

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